Amanda Keifer's Blog (5)

As we think about what today, International Women’s Day, means for the United States, I am calling for stronger U.S. leadership on women’s international reproductive health and family planning (IRH/FP). Since the 1960s, the United States Government has been a global leader by providing IRH/FP assistance in dozens of countries. But have we done enough?

There are currently an estimated 215 million women around the world who want to delay or prevent pregnancy but who do not have…

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at an event during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The event, titled Women and Agriculture: A Conversation on Improving Global Food Security, consisted of a panel of leaders from the UN, civil society, private sector, and government. In her remarks, Clinton noted that in a time when nearly 1 billion people are suffering from chronic… Continue

This week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at an event during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The event, titled Women and Agriculture: A Conversation on Improving Global Food Security, consisted of a panel of leaders from the UN, civil society, private sector, and government. In her remarks, Clinton noted that in a time when nearly 1 billion people are suffering from chronic hunger and we…

Today, July 11, is World Population Day. On October 31 of this year, the world’s population is estimated to reach 7 billion people. In a lot of ways, reaching 7 billion marks a global achievement: People are living longer thanks to healthier lifestyles and great strides in medicine and agriculture. However, a world of 7 billion also poses challenges. Gaps between the rich and poor are increasing dramatically; urbanization and migration continue to put pressures on already crowded cities;…

Millennium Development Goal 5 aims to improve maternal health through two targets: (1) Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio, and (2) Achieve, by 2015 universal access to reproductive health. While maternal deaths worldwide have dropped 34% since 1990, maternal mortality remains remarkably high (more than 358,000 women die annually from complications during pregnancy or childbirth) and large disparities remain in providing women with family planning…